SAT Reading & Writing · Boundaries
The city's water supply comes from a single reservoir ______ a fact that has worried engineers since a nearby wildfire threatened the…
The city's water supply comes from a single reservoir ______ a fact that has worried engineers since a nearby wildfire threatened the watershed two years ago.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Answer and explanation
Answer: C: :
"A fact that has worried engineers since a nearby wildfire threatened the watershed two years ago" restates and explains the significance of the preceding complete statement, which is exactly the job a colon does: introducing an explanation or elaboration after a complete sentence. A comma would treat this substantial explanatory clause as a minor aside instead of a formal elaboration. A semicolon requires an independent clause on both sides, and "a fact that has worried..." cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. No punctuation would run the explanation directly into the sentence with no signal that elaboration is beginning.
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